A Nightmare
by Smash Bandiicoot
Summary: The fearless leader of the Rebel Alliance, Princess Leia Organa, once again falls into the hands of the Empire. AU Story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:** _A Night Terror_

The holding cell was small and she was sitting on the hard black bench, her knees tucked into her chest. She had been sitting there for hours, who knew how long, there was no track of time in the tiny room. She had a lot of thinking time on her hands now, and she wasn't used to that, sitting and thinking. She moved fast, she was always acting and making things happen. She never had time to sit around and think, nor did she want to.

After a few moments her brain had gotten mixed up, and now she couldn't retrace her thoughts. Her eyes began to close, and the tingling in her rear end set in right when the door slid up. She didn't need to look to know Lord Vader was in the door way, she just knew. She just knew a lot of things.

"Come with me now." His deep voice boomed into the small cavity. She looked up at him and for a moment didn't move. "My patience is wavering, princess." He warned her, she snapped back to reality, remembering who she was; she got up and followed him through the space station. Her mouth was dry, there was a strange feeling in her gut that she had come to regularly know as a hint that something horrible was about to happen.

Ever since she was a small child she had feelings, instincts, which told her about a situation before she entered the situation. When she was young they came when she was relaxed, when her mind was clear, now they fought their way through many barriers of thoughts and emotions. Now was one of those times.

The only sound heard for a very long time was the clicking of their shoes as they made their way to the main control station. The sight of a thin, ugly old man came into her view, and she sucked in her breath deeply as the rooted hatred for Governor Tarkin began to grow within her stomach. She lifted her chin as she approached him, "Governor Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board." She said, under pressure her wit never left her.

"Charming to the last." He chuckled, slightly amused, he was used to her antics. "You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life." He gloated, holding her chin between his cold bony fingers. Her head began to pull away from his grasp as he released her,

"I'm surprised that you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself." She said spitefully.

"Princess Leia," he began, he had a distinct thing to his voice, where he always drew out his 'e's, "before your execution, you will join me at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now." He said as he walked away from her.

"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." She predicted; her constant rebellious tone frustrated him.

"Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the rebel base I have chosen to test this stations destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan." He finished as he walked over to the window, revealing the green-blue sphere floating in space that was known as Alderaan. She sucked in her breath, had it come down to this? She moved over to him, pleading.

"No! Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons, you can't possibly..."

"You would prefer another target, a military target?" he asked her irritably. "Then name the system!" he paused, then he began to advance, she stepped back and stumbled into the hard mechanical anatomy of Lord Vader. She looked up at Tarkin, looming over her, "I grow tired of asking this so it will be the last time: _Where_ is the rebel base?"

_In time of an emergency, say Dantooine. If others lives are at risk, besides your own, remember, Dantooine. _She was reminded of her very own mission briefing she gave to the soldiers before their ship had been boarded, andher very own words rang through her head as she looked over Tarkin's shoulder. The sight was so familiar, she had watched from this very distance as many a times she was leaving and arriving. Usually, when she was this close, she felt a sense of serenity and calm coming over her, to see her family and enjoy the familiar sight of the landscape. But now, now she felt dread, dread that she may never feel any of those things again.

"Dantooine," she said, looking up at Tarkin and then lowering her head, what she hoped was a convincing act, "They're on Dantooine."

"There, you see Lord Vader, she can be reasonable." He spoke as he moved away from them. "Continue, with the operation, you may fire when ready." He ordered. Her heart twisted within her chest,

"WHAT?" she exclaimed shortly.

"You're far too trusting." He accused, "Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration - but don't worry; we will deal with your rebel friends soon enough." He said matter-of-factly.

"No…" she pleaded as she tried to move towards him, but Vader was there to pull her back, she didn't know what she was going to do to Tarkin if she had got her hands on him. Then the longest ten seconds of her life proceeded. For a moment there was nothing, and then a low vibration started that made her teeth clench. A shutter went through the station as a green beam of light shot through the emptiness of space towards Alderaan. Upon contact, the planet disrupted from the inside out. In an instant, everything she had once known and loved, was now, simply gone. A billion chunks of rock, floating through space.

A fire burned inside of her, starting where she knew her heart to be and spreading out to every capillary of her body. She looked accusingly at Tarkin, "You monster." She growled through her teeth and in a moment she was upon him. How she had wrenched herself from the grip of Vader she could not imagine, and how she shoved Tarkin to the floor with no hands was beyond her imagination. However, there he was, curled on the floor and she was standing above him, her chest heaving up and down, her nails clenched into her palms.

"Get her away from me!" he shouted, as he looked at the hand he withdrew from where it had been inspecting the back of his head. Before Leia felt the solid arm of Lord Vader around her waist, she saw small spots of blood on Tarkin's hand, and as she was lifted from the ground and out the door, she felt good about that.

Vader let go of her forcefully, so that she stumbled and fell to the floor. She picked herself up with her arms and looked back at him, "Take the Princess to her cell in the detention center." He commanded before turning back into the room.

As soon as the door slid down behind her she dropped to her knees upon the grated floor. Hot tears spewed over her sockets and poured down her cheeks that were red with fury. She could see the countenance of her parents in her mind. Adoptive or not, they were the first things she had ever known to love. Her father's quiet demeanor, her mother's sweet aura. They're irreplaceable love and comfort. Now the place where she had felt that love was a throbbing, empty hole.

Alderaan had been hers, with small dispersed cities settled in the crevices of hills. The sight of snow covered mountains as far as the eye could see. The breathe of thin air that filled her lungs and cleared her mind. The very first places she had laughed and loved had cried and been comforted. The only place she felt at ease, the only place that could piece her back together. Her anchor, her rock, her foundation had just shattered and her sobs turned into cries of desperation.

Suddenly the holding cell was torn from around her, and instead of being curled up on a hard floor, she was on a soft mattress, under heavy blankets. When she realized the cries were coming from her she calmed down. The intercom sounded outside her door, paging Commander Skywalker, and that's when she relaxed, remembering where she was.

She sat up and wiped her eyes and face, the other beds in the room were unoccupied, she was grateful, for the fact that no one had witnessed her night terror. She got up from the bed, put on a pair of slippers before stepping onto the icy floor, and went into the bathroom. As she looked at herself in the mirror she was disappointed, her hair was a poking out of her braid and her makeup was smeared across her face. Her mind wandered to Han Solo, and how he would react if he saw her like this. She shook the thought away and went about to cleaning herself up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:** _The Rogue  
_

The previous night had been one of the longest and hardest ones Leia had endured for a long time. Every night, and day for that matter, was particularly strained when you were hiding on a desolate ice planet trying to hide a whole army from the Empire, but this one was different. Last night had emotionally disturbed Leia to a point that she was not used to experiencing. A very slight amount of things could distress Lea and she had been distressed.

Recalling her thoughts about Luke out in the merciless ice, made Leia close her eyes and let out a long breath as she washed her hair. She gingerly leaned her head against the wall of the shower as the soap crawled down her neck. She had believed in some part of her heart that Luke was never going to make it back last night and Han as well. The only people she was, remotely, attached to were so close to dying and her stress level had been unbearable. She sat up all night in the command center listening for anything to come through the comm. After Luke and Han had returned, the latter and General Rieekan had insisted that she get some rest, it would be a few hours before Luke would wake up anyway.

Leia stepped out of the shower, the mirror was barely even touched by the steam, considering she had to shut the water off as soon as she turned it on and it was freezing everywhere in Echo Base, she wasn't surprised. However, as she looked at herself in the reflection she was surprised that she ever got to sleep a few hours earlier. Then as she began to braid her hair she remembered the details of her dream and how her rest probably made her feel worse than better. What she really needed was to see Luke and talk to him; she needed to know that he was going to be fine.

As she pulled her vest over her white outfit her chamber door opened and C 3PO stepped inside, there was only one reason he would be bothering her, and it must be because Luke was going to be released from the bacta tank. At this conclusion she didn't even let him speak before she pushed by him and rushed down the corridor to the medical facility. She turned sharply into the doors and stopped abruptly as she saw Han already standing there, leaning against the wall, watching Luke in the bacta tank with unease. The door opened behind her and C 3PO and R2 D2 came in to stand by the tank to watch the progress of their Master. She walked slowly up to Han and placed a gentle hand on his arm before moving to stop in front of the tank.

She felt Han move and leave the room as Luke jolted to the top of the tank to be released. She made to go to his medical room but didn't go very far, when she suddenly felt fatigued. She sat down in a chair wearily, her heart still slightly pounding from her rush over. She leaned back and closed her eyes; she could hear the mechanical moving of C 3PO as he walked by chattering to R2 D2. She found the strength to get up when she realized the first people Luke might see upon awaking might not even be people at all.

She got to the room before the droids and she hoped, before Han. She slid the door up and knocked on the wall gently before poking her head over the threshold and around the corner. He instantly smiled when he saw her and she returned the gesture relieved to see him moving. He sat up in the bed and Leia practically crushed him beneath her embrace. She held tightly onto his body her hand grasping the back of his head,

"I thought I was going to lose you." She whispered into his, his gripped tightened as he buried his head into neck. All her emotions had rushed to the surface upon seeing him and now all she wanted to do was cry. However, she swallowed the lump in her throat, realizing their meeting had already gone too far. She moved away from him to look into his eyes but kept a firm grip on his hand, "What happened?" she asked.

"A wompa, he attacked me." he said hesitantly. "I don't remember anything except waking up in his cave, I escaped and wandered around in the ice, for…" he laughed ironically, "…who knows how long. I felt like I was going to die out there, Leia." He looked away feeling a bit overwhelmed remembering everything. He wanted to tell her about seeing Ben, but he felt the time wasn't right, instead he look back up at her, "Have you ever experienced a feeling where you thought you were going to die, with no thought of hope?"

She looked down at his question, "What do you think?" she asked, he laughed lightly.

"Of course you have, I forgot." He replied, but her face got serious as she looked at him.

"No, I haven't. I knew I wasn't going to die at the hand of Tarkin, I always knew. In the back of my mind, I never accepted death." She said quietly, she released his hand as she heard the door open and moved away from his bed. She knew he was keeping something from her and she turned around at the other side of the room to smile at him, "But you do look devilishly handsome with those scars, gives you a roguish look." She entertained,

"Like Han?" he asked.

"Yeah, but don't let it get to your head. Remember you're the noble one." She added, he smiled and looked down, his smiled faded after a moment and she thought he was going to tell what he was hiding. However, C-3PO saw a gap in the conversation and took his first chance to speak,

"Master Luke sir, it's so good to see you fully functional again!" the protocol droid said, quite loudly, compared to their own soft tones.

"Thanks threepio." Luke replied in a low voice over R2's beeps and whirls.

"R2 expresses his relief also." C-3PO finished as Han came through the door, almost cutting the droid off in mid sentence.

"How ya feeling kid? You don't look so bad to me. You look strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark." He said as he and Chewie went to hover over Luke's bed.

"Thanks to you."

"That's two you owe me junior." Han replied, holding two fingers of his right hand up for a clear message. Luke chuckled in reply as Han turned around to face the other side of the room where Leia stood. "Well, Your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a little while longer." He accused as she looked over at him slowly,

"I had nothing to do with it," she said in her defense, "General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy field." She finished, now slightly provoked.

"That's a good story," he began, "But I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight." He finished with a nice pouty lip, she struggled to hold back her disgust.

"I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain." She retaliated quite calmly for her growing displeasure. She felt a sense of pride when Chewie chuckled at her comeback.

"Laugh it up fuzzball," Han said to him, obviously not appreciating his amusement as much as she. "But you didn't see us in the South Passage," he said walking over to her, she watched him irritably as he put his arm around her shoulder, "She expressed her true feeling for me."

"My-"she paused as she fought the urge to regurgitate in her mouth, she regained her composure and began to yell up at him. "Why you stuck up…half-witted…scruffy looking…nerf herder!" she barked as he walked back to Luke. He stopped halfway and looked back at her,

"Whose scruffy looking?" he asked, offended only by the insult towards his physical appearance. Her chest heaved slowly as she stared at him with contempt as he leaned down, "I must've hit it pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh kid?" Her jawe tightened and her lips formed a thin line in her white face. Luke nor anyone else, showed no signs of amusement or recognition other than looking at her. She began nodding in her agitation while walking towards them. She wanted to slap Han in the face; however, she didn't truly think she would be able to reach, so she chose a different route. One she had been thinking about taking for a long time,

"Well I guess you don't know everything about women yet." She said crisply as she looked up at Han, he crossed his arms, practically at her eye level. Then without warning she reached down and grabbed Luke by the side of the face and kissed him. Luke made little movement as did everyone else in the room, except C-3PO who bustled over to get a better look at the unfolding drama. She heard Chewie's noises of surprise and felt Han's disproving stare as she disengaged her lips from Luke's. She looked triumphantly up at the rogue, and held eye contact with him as she smirked and turned to leave.

"Headquarters personnel report to the Command Center." a voice repeated three times over the loud speaker. She sighed a breathe of relief, happy to shed her personal endeavors for the day.

**INSERT: I realize now that Leia had her own room at Hoth and so ignore the last chapter "the other beds in the room were unoccupied, she was grateful, for the fact that no one had witnessed her night terror", because obviously, she got her own rooms. That was a mistake on my part and I apologize. Also, right now you may think that I am just going to repeat the movie, but my original story does start to unfold in the next chapter or two. You won't have to wait long.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:** The Rogue Leader

She muttered her mission briefing over to herself, as she tried to surpress the butterflies in her stomach. Obviously they weren't because she was nervous to speak to a dozen pilots. She had believed it was because of her kiss with Luke, but it was there before Luke got back. It was also there before Luke got stranded in the snow. The uneasy feeling in her gut was usually a premonition of something terrible about to happen, was the Empire's discovery of their base that terrible happening?

The group of pilots was gathering when Leia hurried over to them. She squeezed her way through to the center of the crowd. She spoke with a sense of urgency and composer.

"All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports." She told them sternly as she walked around, meeting their eyes.

"Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?" a pilot asked, she turned it into a rhetorical question by ignoring him.

"The ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure that any enemy ships will be out of your flight path. When you've gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point. Understood?"

"Right. Okay." The pilots replied in unison.

"Good luck." She said to them, _may the Force be with you_, she added in her head as she walked away. She was just pondering her unexpected thoughts when she heard her name called above the din of the hanger. She turned around to watch Luke jog over to her. A nervous feeling that she had been suppressing filled her gut and began to eat away at her, "Luke." She said in greeting, he tried to smile.

"Hey, it's O.K. don't look so freaked out, I don't want another kiss." He said, she was caught off guard by his frankness, and realized that was what she had been dreading. She began to reply but he cut her off, "It's fine, it's just, I wanted to say good bye, you know."

"I think we hardly need to go over goodbye's Luke, we will see each other soon enough." She told him.

"You see that's the thing, Leia, I don't know when I will see you again. I know I will, but it may be months… years, maybe." He said; she looked concerned.

"I don't understand."

"Ben left me with instructions to go find one of the last remaining Jedi Masters, he told me his name was Yoda."

"Where?" she asked, her feeling of dread growing, and not out of fear for a kiss.

"The Degaboh system."

"Degaboh!" she cried, "How long will this take?"

"I told you…" he sighed, "I don't know." Leia felt her face go white,

"You can't." she managed.

"I must." He replied. "I have to…" he started, but she nodded, she closed her eyes raising her hand slightly.

"I know, I understand. It's just," she said looking up at him now, "I can't imagine being without you for so long, the Alliance being without you," she added, in attempt to guard herself, "So far away and out of contact, no one will know where you are."

"No one, but you, Leia; I haven't even told Han." Luke admitted to her and she knew the gravity of this information. She nodded her mouth in a thin line. "Hey," he said, taking her arm and pulling her too him. He hugged her tightly, "I'll see you again." He said and kissed the top of her head. She nodded and he gave her one last smile before walking past her to his speeder.

"Luke." She called to him over her shoulder, she looked back at him, "May the Force be with you." She said in Farwell, he smiled and nodded.

"And also with you, Leia." He said, happy he had both his friends wish him the guidance of the Force within moments of each other. Leia walked across the hanger lost in her thoughts, she didn't even noticed when she docked beneath the Falcon until Han dropped down in front of her. She jumped backwards with a yelp,

"Hey, princess, take it easy," he said, "I've never seen you so wired before, what's got you on edge, your highness?" he asked with a smirk as he leaned against the ship, blocking her way. She didn't reply as she went to go around him, he backed up with her steps, "Come on, Leia, just a goodbye kiss? You must have on left over for old Han, I know you didn't give them all to Luke. I bet he couldn't handle them all." He said with a wink.

"You make me sick." She sneered as she brushed past him. He stopped in shock and let her go past him; he heard the amused sounds of Chewbacca above him. He looked up to see the Wookie grinning down at him,

"Yeah, tell me about it pal." Han said, Chewbacca replied with a question. "Why? What's wrong with the way I approach women?" he asked, but Chewie just shook his head and slinked away, back to work. She shook her head as she left the Captain behind,

"The audacity of that man!" she mumbled to herself as she walked into the command center. The nervous feeling in her stomach had gone away when Han startled her, and now it was sitting unnoticed for the moment. She hurried over to the General Rieekan to assist him in the evacuation.

**A/N: Honestly, I didn't proof read this... this chapter is a bit shorter than the other two. It's kind of like a filler... kind of purposeless... idk... Tell me what you think about it please, and check out my other fanfictions if you like Lord of the Rings. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:** A Bump in the Road

The command center shook around as chunks of ice fell from the ceiling and the machinery caved in on itself. Leia hardly stopped to let it pass on her trip from one computer to the next. Then the whole room shuttered and Leia dropped to the floor as the ceiling caved in some spots and knocked the equipment into debris.

She got up, coughing from the ice particles that invaded her lungs and ran over to one of the remaining computer operators. She was leaning over her watching the screen when Han ran into what was left of the room.

"You alright?" he asked her from behind a broken piece of equipment.

"Why are you still here?" she snapped, her nerves on end, she turned back to the woman.

"I heard the command center been hit." He replied.

"You've got your clearance to leave." She ignored his concern.

"Don't worry I'll leave." He said, climbing over a piece of rubble, "First, I'm going to get you to your ship."

"You're Highness, we must take this last transport, it's our only hope." C-3PO pleaded to her, she ignored him and brushed past Han, hurrying over to General Rieekan.

"Send all troops to the sector twelve to the south slope to protect the fighters." Leia told him urgently.

"Imperial troops have entered the base. Imperial troops have entered the…" The warning over the speaker broke into static. "_Imperial troops have boarded the ship." The soldier warned her calmly as he took a stand, waiting for the troops to meet him there. She nodded and slipped into a narrow hall, R2-D2 following her. _The memory flooded Leia's mind for a moment but she was pulled out of it as Han stepped over to her and gripped her arm loosely.

"Come on, that's it." Han said quietly. She looked up into his eyes, they held sincerity.

"Give the evacuation code signal." She said leaning over to Rieekan. "And get to your transports."

"Leia!" Rieekan called jumping up as she was being pulled away, "Take this." He said, offering her a blaster.

"Thank you, General." She replied, taking the firearm.

"Ah! Wait for me!" 3PO called as Han escorted the Princess to the door. They ran down to the corridor but stopped at the intersection. The hall to the left leading to the South Hanger and the right, to the North. She turned to him as a few men and women hurried past.

"Han, leave me here, you'll never make it to your ship in time if you take me all the way to the Hanger." she told him sternly. He searched her eyes intently before glancing down at her blaster.

"Alright…" He said, he looked into her eyes and smirked. Suddenly his arm wrapped her waist and her too him. He kissed her passionately as the base shuttered around them. After a moment, Leia regained herself and began to push away, but he let her go. "But don't forget me, Princess." He said with a wink and ran past her down the passage to the Millennium Falcon. Leia immediately fled the crossroads towards her transport. Not knowing if their paths would ever meet again.

Suddenly there was a sharp whistle and a knock as the ceiling fell down in front of her. She jumped back falling to the floor just far enough away to avoid being buried alive. She got up and inspected the wall of ice before her. There was no way through. Cursing she fled back the way she came. She ran through the intersection were her and Han exchanged their goodbye just moments before.

"Han!" she yelled as she ran into the hanger out of breath, her lungs felt like they were on fire. She stopped and gaped as she saw the Falcon blast out of the hanger door and disappear. "Han…" she said quietly as a lump formed in her throat. He was gone.

"Princess…" Threepio warned. She dropped her head, gripping her blaster, she took a deep breath, the click of their boots and the sound of their voices reached her ears. She turned around sharply, firing into the corridor as she side stepped behind stacked crates. She saw a few storm troopers fall and continued to peek around the wall, quickly firing shots.

However, the crates were suddenly pulled away by an unseen force. She gasped as she saw Vader standing there, his head high above the white clad soldiers around him. His deep breathing pierced her soul. She stumbled backwards,

"No…" she whispered to herself, "This can't be."

Vader merely waved his hand and the storm troops rushed over to her. She struggled with them, bloodying her knuckles as she struck one's helmet. She elbowed another behind her when they seized her arms. There was a sharp pain in her back and slipped into darkness. She felt herself falling and the last thing she saw was Vader's grinning face above her.

**A/N: Questions? Comments? Criticism? Are welcome! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Ok, first off, when I write fanfictions, I'm experimenting, practicing with different techniques, different ideas, because I like to write. So, when Leia saw Vader's "grinning fac"e in the last chapter, it was a figure of speech, to portray how pleased Vader was with the whole situation. I purposely didn't include an author's note, because I wanted to see how that would go. I see that it was very confusing and intriguing, sorry to disappoint you, Vader is still on oxygen. My bad...Now with that being said…

**Chapter Five:** Sickening Cuisine

"Hey! Hey! Listen to me! Chewie this won't help me!" Han shouted over the Wookie's angry cries, Leia looked over to see the stormtroopers placing binders on him. However, her attention was immediately drawn back to the looming figure of Darth Vader, his breathing penetrating her brain. "Save your strength, there will be another time." Han continued when Chewbacca had calmed down. "The Princess, you have to take care of her." Chewbacca was then sealed to protect Leia because of his debt and deep friendship for Han.

Leia approached them, holding onto Chewie's arm, he looked down at her, confirming his promise with a growl. She looked away and up at Han, who she found was staring at her.

The unfamiliar room was lit in a dull orange glow that altered the color of Han's face as she looked up into his eyes. Her stomach was in an agonizing knot as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Han saw her struggle and his face softened, and then his lips were upon hers. It happened so fast, her face tilted, almost painfully, up, him leaning forward to meet her. His hands were bound, but she longed for them to touch her.

It was not at all like their kiss on the Millenuium Falcon, how slow that moment seemed between their words. This was something of a different kind, fast and powerful, but nothing short of passionate.

Then, as he was pulled away and as his lips left hers it felt as if a hand had reached down her throat and ripped her heart out through her mouth. She watched stunned, as he was backed onto the platform,

"I love you!" burst from her, she couldn't prevent it from escaping her lips. There was a split second of dread as she awaited his reply.

"I know." He said calmly, she could not help but feel a pang of regret. But the feeling seemed to fade away as he was lowered into the floor. Chewie belted out yells of grief and anger as she held onto him, her eyes locked with Han's. She felt her face contort as she fought the urge to cry, unwilling to show such weakness especially after her affectionate display.

She saw the corner of his mouth twitch but his smile fell dead on his lips. Then there was a sharp hiss as a cloud of steam poured from the walls and rose out of the floor, it filled the room. The seconds that followed felt like an age as the giant claw reached down and picked up the large casing.

She was so stunned that she absent mindedly let go of Chewbacca. Han was frozen in a rectangle block of carbonite. She strained her eyes to see him. But as she anticipated the sight of him, the casing fell hard on the floor and she jumped in surprise.

Suddenly she was in a different room, lying on a soft bed, staring at a gray metal ceiling. For a moment, she did not know where she was. The distinguishable feeling of absolute dread did not leave her. The room was a dark gray, but the blankets on the bed were black as was all the furnishing in the room.

She stood up and swayed a little from a light head, she held onto the wall briefly until she regained her balance. She made it to the door, expecting to find it locked, however, when she used the control panel it shot up to reveal narrow hallway. She went inside to find a door to her left there was a 'fresher and to her right was a closet that contained a few expensive, yet practical pieces of dark clothing. Confused by this, she walked to the end of the hall where it opened up to a sitting room with a couch and a small dining area.

She entered the room to see a silver tray with a dome lid on the table. Next to the table was a window where she caught the sight of a few asteroids and vast emptiness. Leia went over to it and lifted the lid; the sight of it triggered a gag reflex. It was a meal that could have only been prepared from the fine herbs, spices and rare species on Alderaan. She slammed the lid back down over the sickening cuisine as she ran to the 'fresher. She made it to the toilet in time to heave up vital fluids from her empty stomach. She spit the remains of her the acid out of her mouth and then leaned against the wall, her eyes closed as she tried to regain her strength.

After a few moments, she struggled to stand up and forced herself to look into the mirror. What she saw there was exactly what she had feared, her face was pale and dry, her eyes heavy with dark circles, her lips chapped and her hair out of place. She tried to fix her braid but she found that her hands were shaking too much. She leaned against the sink until a feeling that something had entered the main room forced her to move along the wall.

A silver protocol droid was just making its way to the doorway she was standing,

"Ah, it is a pleasure to see you are awake, your Highness. I am TC-J56 at your service. Have you had the opportunity to eat?"

"No." Leia said as she leaned against the wall.

"I hope you find everything to your preference."

"I do not want it."

"I will replace it then. What would you like instead?"

"Anything that isn't Alderaanian."

"Can I assist with anything else?"

"Where am I?" she asked as she slowly moved to the couch.

"You are aboard Darth Vader's flagship, the Executor."

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked from the couch, it felt like it could have been for years.

"Nearly twenty hours, your Highness."

"I didn't think that was possible." she said in astonishment, she had never known herself to sleep more than eight standard hours, not even when she was a child. There was always too much to do or too many nightmares.

"It seems you were highly exhausted, your Highness, which is why Lord Vader is concerned that you eat immediately."

"If Lord Vader is so concerned about my appetite, then please tell him to send a meal I may be able to actually eat."

"Of course, your Majesty." She replied, "Is that all?"

Leia nodded shortly, her mouth in a tight line; she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.


End file.
